Thousands will visit Syria this month seeking the perfect apple at the Graves Mountain Farm and Lodges Apple Harvest Festival.
The festival, in its 56th year, features farm tours, horseback rides, vendors, children’s activities, hayrides through the orchard and of course, apples. This year’s festival begins this weekend and will continue the first three weekends of the month–Oct. 4-5, 11-12 and 18-19, 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Apples are available from both Graves Mountain and other local orchards. Visitors can choose from 17 varieties of pre-picked apples in the festival area or at the apple packing shed across from the Graves Mountain Market. There will also be apple cider, apple butter, apple preserves, apple pies, apple sauce and apple butter donuts available for purchase, as well as gourds and pumpkins. Other food options include funnel cakes, brunswick stew, barbecue, hamburgers and cheeseburgers, hot dogs, french fries and more, plus kettle corn, fried oreos and Snow Mountain ice cream. The farmhouse restaurant will also be open offering its breakfast, lunch and dinner buffets.
The beer and wine tent will offer Graves Mountain Squeeze, Graves’ own hard cider, and Graves Mountain Apple Wine, plus DuCard Vineyards Wine and local craft and domestic beer.
Live music will be provided by various bluegrass bands each day. Circle H Equine will offer horseback trail rides and pony rides. Vendors will offer a variety of items for sale and children can enjoy the hay maze, hay mountain, moonbounce and petting zoo. The farmyard will also be open for visits with tours every 40 minutes leaving from the farm pavilion near the goats. Hayrides through the orchard will be available departing from the center of the festival.
Admission is $5 per person for adults. Ages 15 and younger are free. Some activities, including horse and pony rides, the petting zoo, moonbounce, hay maze, hay mountain and hayride are additional.
For more information visit https://www.gravesmountain.com/apple-harvest-festival-first-3-weekends-in-october/.
